Remembering Noah: His Story

This is a guest post by Jenna and Scott Rogers, parents of Noah Rogers. Noah died from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) in 2010. To remember Noah and to raise money for SIDS research, Jenna and Scott are hosting the second annual Noah’s Memorial Classic on Monday, July 9. Proceeds from the event will benefit Children’s, the CJ Foundation for SIDS and Faith’s Lodge. To learn more about this event, visit http://noahsmemorialclassic.org/.

November 4, 2009, was the happiest day of our lives. Our beautiful son and first-born Noah Joseph Rogers was born at 9:39 a.m., weighing in at a healthy 8 pounds, 3 ounces.

He had personality from the start. Once he started smiling at 6 weeks old, he never stopped. He brought so much joy to everyone’s lives. He LOVED people. He was a true gift to his mommy and daddy, family and friends. His laughter was contagious, and he learned great tricks like “SO BIG” that he loved sharing with everyone. He said “da-da” like crazy but wanted no part in saying “ma-ma.” He was learning to walk. He was the absolute light of our lives.

Sadly, we never knew that the greatest love of our life would be taken away from us when he was 11 months old. On October 7, 2010, I was leaving work and on my way to pick up Noah from daycare when I received the call that changed my life forever. It was the police. An officer said Noah had been taken to Maple Grove Hospital and that we needed to get there immediately. While taking a nap at daycare, Noah was found unresponsive. I prayed and prayed the entire drive to the hospital. Please save my perfect boy! He’s only 11 months, and I can’t live without him, so he HAS to be OK.

As soon as I walked through the emergency room doors and saw him, I knew he was gone. There were so many doctors working on him, so many machines, so many tubes. My baby boy was lying lifeless on the table, slightly blue and cold to the touch.

Scott and my family arrived shortly after that. A doctor told us that the medical team had spent an hour trying to revive Noah. My own flesh and blood that I carried for nine months and played with for 11 months was gone. We were in a complete state of shock as we spent the next few hours with Noah. We got to hold him, and the medical staff gave me a lock of his hair and his final footprints.

We later found out from the medical examiner that Noah had no medical problems or injuries of any kind. He didn’t suffocate on his blanket. It wasn’t because of his environment. He just died. The medical examiner determined his respiratory tract shut down immediately with no signs of struggle. He breathed out – and never took another breath. Noah died from SIDS, according to the medical examiner.

As a parent, you do everything in your power to make sure your children are safe. We were the best parents we could be to Noah, and we find comfort in that. We gave him everything we could. We made sure he was safe and happy.

We’ll never have all the answers. But, we live on and dedicate our lives to Noah’s memory. He was the greatest, most amazing little boy in the world. We love him more than we even knew our hearts could love.

We continue to honor Noah’s memory in many ways. The annual golf tournament to raise money for SIDS research is just one of them. If you’d like to support this cause, please click here.

For more information about SIDS, please visit the Minnesota SID Center website.

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